英语听力精选进阶版 7077（在线收听）

Background: 一个日本公司宣布了一项新发明，专为老年人设计的安全气袋，这种气袋可以减少身体虚弱的老年人因摔倒而造成的伤害。这项新发明在东京的展览会上推出，标价1400美元。

The makers of the airbag 安全气袋 say it can be strapped 绑起来 around the waist and will inflate 充气 in a tenth of a second if it detects 查出 that the person wearing it is accelerating 加速 towards the ground.

They say it weighs just over a kilogram and is designed to cushion 缓和冲击 a fall with two separate pockets of air, one around the back of the head and the other around the hips. It doesn't provide protection to anyone falling forwards.

The airbag has been unveiled 揭幕 at the International Home Care and Rehabilitation 康复 Exhibition in Tokyo. The president of Prop, the company which makes it, says it's aimed especially at old people with epilepsy 癫痫, who are very vulnerable 易受伤的 to injury.

Japan has a large elderly population with nearly 30 million people over the age of 65, so there's a huge market for products to protect and assist them.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

airbag 安全气袋

strapped 绑起来

inflate 充气

detects 查出

accelerating 加速

cushion 缓和冲击

unveiled 揭幕

Rehabilitation 康复

epilepsy 癫痫

vulnerable 易受伤的

Questions and Answers

1. Will the airbag inflate in less than a second?

Yes – it will inflate in a tenth of a second.

2. True or false: The airbag consists of two cushions which people have to carry around.

False – the airbag has two 'pockets' which fill with air and then cushion a fall.

3. Will the airbag protect people’s faces?

No – the airbag doesn't provide protection to anyone falling forwards.

4. True or false: Lots of people in Japan are willing to pay for things to help the elderly.

True – “there's a huge market for products to protect and assist” elderly people in Japan.